Ball-bearing.



W. H. STROM.

BALL BEARING. APPLLCATION FILED )ULY22, 19H.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

. culor nntiritn sin "\KALTER H. STROM, OE OAK PARIQ ILLINGZS.

BALL-BEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apia 1915 Application filed July 2-2, 3914-. ,Serial No 852,333.

To aZZ whom it may concern l lo it known that l, -WAL'IER H. STROM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ball-Bearings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention rcla to an improvement in the type of bali-boarings in Which the balls run in a race formed of opposing cir as provided, respectively, about the inner face of an outer ring and the... outer face of an inner ring concentric with the outer ring, and in which an annular retainer in the space bctr-xeen the two rings serves to hold the bulls in properly spaced relation.

The present invention relates, particularly, to the construction of the retainer element for obtaining the advantages hereinafter pointed out. i

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is .'-L plan view of a. ball-bearing embodying my improvement; Fig. 2 a section on line 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the retainer; l is a. plan view of a blank, showing it it stamped out to be formed by another stamping operation into the retainer; Fig. 5 is an enlarged broken section on linov 5, 3, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged broken View, partly in section taken on line 6, .lfig. 5, and partly in elevation.

The bull-bearing shown comprises, as usual, an outer ring 7 containing an inner oircumfcrcntial groove, an inner ring 8 containing an outer circumferential. groove 13; am with the companion-groore H1 twining the hall-race, balls 3 confined in the Paco, nod a retainer l0 insertible into the space hetwecn the rings to keep the balls zip-art. I

Tho rctain r is formed by stamping a blank ll (Fig. l) out of suitable shcetanotal to provide a ring-section 1i having T- slmped projctfiious extending radially, at uniform llltClVillti, from its pcriphcry and *ach having a relatively narrow neck or stem ii" and a relatively wide head ii, in one time ml? which are provided, near its ends, iltuuirssions 11.. This blank maybe out out by onu opcratiou ol' suitable (llkb, though it is tho present practice to produce tho depressions by a second operation. 'lhlblank if-; then subjected to othm' (lies to bend tho lu' lzs ll at rinhtaznglcs to the ring ll" and fold th end portions of the heads ll .nssmnblcd; and in inserting it between the rings the spacers enter between succesire nails to hold them in scparnto relation, each ball finding its hearings at diamctricallv opposite points in opposing; depressions 11. In forming the retainer, it is practically n'npossihle to prevent irregularity of the spacers in their setting with relation to the ring 11 That is to say, some of them will extend inwardly toward the inner periphery of the ring farther than others, thereby bringing opposite depressions ll out of line with each other, Whereas they should meet the respective balls at dinmotrh cully opposite points. In that condition of the retainer, the hearing points of those balls between irregularly tn'ojccting spaces would not he diametrically opposite ouch other; and if the spacers wore rigid they would be if formcd separately from the ring and riveted in place, instead of ooin formed integrally thoii'ei-vith through. the medium ot' the tlcxihlo necks) the halls in rotating would grind against them more or less noisily, causing wear, and tend to bind.

The flexible spacors in my improved con.- struction cnahlo any hall, whcn :ulim'cnt spacers are out of lino, in the sense referred to, to strain the latter iulo rclatlve posi-- lions wherein the ball finds its hearings to; diametrically opposilc. points in the opposinn depressions. Morcovor, and particw larly in tho hearings ol larger sizes, Where the spacers project thus irregularly to a more or loss great extent, they may be ri-adily heist by hand, or ith :x suitable tool, to right (hem approflmutely, so that tho halls may uun'v readily liiul their hooriugs at tho dcsirahlo diametrically oppo site points a l'l'ur the retainer is introduced into place. 'lhc described flexibility of the spacers also comrs into play where the racel'orming og'rom'es in the concentric rings dillcr in dcpth. 'lhis liable to occur whens him-in rcpairrd by rcgrinding the rings, and tho samo condition may also exist in a new bearing, whereby the balls will be housed to a slightly greater extent in one groove than within another, and will not register at diametrically opposite oints with the retainer depressions even t 011 'h the spacers be uniformly set properly on t e ring 11". In such a case, also, the flexibility of the spacers enables the balls between them' to bring them into proper relative position to embrace the balls at diametrically opposite points between the depressions. Furthermore, the flexibility of the spacers saves much manipulation in assembling the parts of the bearing and facilities and greatly reduces the cost of assembling the parts of the bearing. In fact it reduces that cost by about 90 per cent.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A ball-bearing ball-retainer, comprising a sheet-metal ring having ball-spacers at intervals about its outer edge, comprising flexible necks extending at substantial rightangles to the ring and terminating in members having sides folded toward each other flexible necks extending at substantial rightangles to the ring and terminating in niembers having sides folded toward each other to extend to the inner peripheral edge. of the ring, and provided with depressions'in their outer faces.

3. A ball-bearing ball-retainer, comprising a sheet-metal ring having ball-spacers at intervals about its outer edge, comprising flexible necks extending at substantial rightangles to the ring and terminating in members having sides folded convergingly toward each other to extend toward the inner peripheral edge of the ring, and provided with depressions in their outer faces.

A. C. FIsoHER, L. HEISLAR. 

